ΣAE Status Report

Dear Alumni of the Texas Rho Chapter of SAE:

As you may know, on April 22, 2022, the Supreme Council of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity voted and approved the return of an SAE chapter to the University of Texas-Austin.

On May 16, 2022, a Re-charter Committee was selected and assigned the responsibility for re-chartering the SAE UT-Austin chapter.

The Re-charter committee members wish to update you concerning the progress made to complete the requirements for re-chartering.

  • Summer 2022 - The committee, in collaboration with many others, planned and structured its activities for the selection and vetting of undergraduate candidates to join the “emerging” SAE chapter at UT-Austin. Interviews were conducted by alumni with each candidate to ensure they understood and agreed to comply with the SAE chapter standards, as well as to ask and receive answers to any questions that they had.
  • August 2022 - Candidates selected for membership were invited to a two-day orientation in Austin during which SAE National leaders, the re-chartering committee, the Chapter Advisor, SAE alumni, and chapter leaders spoke about their aspirations for the chapter’s return to UT and the plans to accomplish this goal. Before the end of the two-day meeting, 135 UT-Austin undergraduates, including freshman, were initiated into the “emerging" SAE chapter at UT. Immediately following the initiation, the first “emerging chapter” meeting was held. Officers were elected and bylaws were approved.
  • Fall 2022 – When the semester began, work by the undergraduates began in earnest to implement the chapter operations and governance described in the SAE Emerging Chapter “Building Blocks” that ensure that the chapter meets all SAE standards. Last fall, you likely received newsletters from the chapter’s leadership describing the chapter’s plans and activities.
  • Spring 2023 – Officers for the 2023 calendar year were elected and the re-charter work continued. During the spring 2023 semester, the chapter’s operation and governance proceeded in compliance with all SAE standards. Throughout the process, the undergraduate’s energy, enthusiasm, and commitment to SAE was extremely high. You are likely to receive additional updates from the chapter during the spring semester.
On February 1, 2023, the chapter petitioned the SAE ESR Chris Hancock to begin the process of formally approving the chartering of our chapter. That petition initiated an internal SAE out-of-province investigation, which included an interview with the current chapter officers on February 25, 2023. The investigation should be completed soon. A vote for final charter approval by the SAE Supreme Council will follow. It is the goal of all involved to receive final approval and issuance of the SAE charter for UT-Austin before summer rush begins. We anticipate that the chapter will initiate 170+ full time UT-Austin students into the Texas Rho chapter of SAE, after which they will have all the rights and privileges of being a member of SAE.

We recognize that his is a lot of information. Feel free to contact any of the undersigned if you have any questions of concerns. We are extremely excited about the opportunities for the chapter at UT-Austin.

Phi Alpha,

Graham Hill and Charlie Boyd
Re-Charter Committee Co-Chairs

Brent Bechtol
Chapter Advisor

ghill2013@gmail.com
cpboyd@mindspring.com
brentbechtol@belgradeinv.com